Percussion fuse



1 March 9: 1937. w. MORPQETH ET AL ,0 0

PERCUSSION FUSE Filed Jur 1e 18, 1955 3 Shets-Sheet 1 WX CLAM (dim/ ,4

' March 9, 1937.

w. MORPETH ET AL 2,073,250

PERCUSSION FUSE Filed June 18, 1935 a Sheets-Sheet 2 V W. MORPETH ET AL PERCUSSION FU SE Filed June 18, 19:55

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 goshutter. shownJ-in Figure 1;

Patented Mar. 9, 1 937 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PERCUSSION FUSE William Morpeth and John Chapman Whaley Heseltine, Westminster, England, ,assignors to Vic'kers-Armstrongs Limited, Westminster, England, a British company Application June 18, 1935, Serial No. 27,246 In Great Britain June 19, 1934 6 Claims.

W Afurther object is tofiprovide a safety device -for:ensuring a greater time interval before arm- ..i-ng of thefuse occurs after the shock of discharge.

'I'he'member or shutter which'normially maintains the striker element in an unarmedposition will hereinafter be referred to gas the striker shutter and the element which-masks the prime detonator will hereinafter be referred to as the "detonator shutter. By interlocking the striker 20 shutter and the-detonator shutter, the shutters {must operate successively and one of said shut- ,,.ters can only move after the other shutter has reached ,a predetermined position, thus affording a long time interval before arming. :If de- 25 sired, ;the detonator shutter or'the striker shutter may. comprise .two inter-locking elements as hereinafter referred to.

in order that thesaid invention maybe clearly understood and readily carried into -eifect the .3 same will now be more fully described with ref- -erence to the; accompanying drawings .in which: Figure l'isa longitudinal cross-sectional view of a percussion fuse constructed in accordance withisone embodiment of the invention;

5.35 Figures 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views 'of :..Fi'gure l taken along the lines 272 and 3-3 of Figure '1 respectively;

Figure 4 is an'enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the striker shutter and detonator Figure 5 is. a longitudinal.cross-sectional View '1 iof 13110131181. embodiment -;of the invention;

Figures 6 and '7 are cross-sectional views 50f Figure-5* taken along' the lines 6 6 and |--I;of

; 5 Figure 1 5 respectively;

: Figure. 8 .is a longitudinal sectional viewof an- 1 otherzconstruction according-to the invention;

FiguresfiQ {and 10. are; respectively cross sectional: viewstaken along the =1ines 9-9 and Figure-11 is a longitudinal ssectional-view of a l further; embodiment of f the invention aFigures "12 and 13 are cross-sectional views inure-11;. 1

to rotate under the action of -centrifugal force Figure 14 is a viewsimilar to Figure 13, but with the parts in a different position.

Figure 14a is: cross sectional View of a modified form of the construction Shown in Figures 11-14 taken along a linecorresponding to l2-l2 in 5 Figure 11 but looking from above.

Figure 15 is a longitudinal section of a fuse embodying a further construction of the invention; and

Figures 16 and 17 are cross-sectional views of Figure taken along the lines 16-46 and 11-17 respectively of Figure 15.

In all of the figures of the drawings the reference numeral l8 indicates the body of the fuse; the reference numeral t9 the striker which in 15 the example shown is of the direct action type; the reference numeral 26 the prime detonator,

.and the reference numeral 2! the member containing the main detonating element.

Referring now moreparticularly to Figures 1 20 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, the detonator shutter 22 comprises a pivotally mounted plate or the like adapted "to be partially rotated in a plane at right angles to the axis of fuse. The said plate has an aperture 23 which is nor- 25 mally disposed out of the pathor out of line with the prime detonator 20, but which is moved into line therewith as shownin dotted lines in Figure 3 by centrifugal force after discharge of the projectile and after thelatter has attained a predetermined angular velocity so that the prime detonator can communicate with the main deto- -nating element or elements-in the member 2| or the pivot pin 24 vis rotated under the action of the detonator' shutter '22. The striker shutter 25 comprises a plate orthe like pivoted on a pin 26 disposedparallel with the axis ofthe fuse, the pivot .pin 26 and thepivot pin:24 of the detonator shutter preferably -being disposed-symmetrically about the-axis of thefuse. as shown. ;'-I'he striker I9 is normally held ;in ant-unarmed position by being supported on thefsaid striker shutter'25 as shown, the pin on the striker passing through a slot 2'| in the side of thestriker shutter, the slot having an open end to enable the striker shutter out of the path of the striker leaving-the latter in an armed position. {The (free end of the striker shutter, that isto say the; end opposite to the pivoted end, has an arcuate recess 28 with which a semi-circular projection 29 on the pivot pin 24 of the detonator shutter is adapted to engage. Normally the semi-circular projection engages the arcuate recess as shown in Figures 2 and 4 so that before the striker shutter 25 can rotate to a position in which the striker is armed as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, the detonator shutter 22 must first rotate the pivot pin 24 so as to move the semi-circular projection 24 out of the path of the said recess 28. By virtue of this arrangement a longer time interval is obtained before arming of the fuse can occur after the shock of discharge. The detonator shutter 22 and the striker shutter 25 are normally maintained in the positions in which they respectively mask the prime detonator and support the striker, by means of suitably disposed springs 30, 3!, such springs preferably comprising torsion springs surrounding the respective pivot pins 24 and 26 and located in slots in the shutters and having legs or arms abutting against the shutters and the inner wall of the fuse body. Movement of the detonator shutter 22 under the action of its associated spring may be limited, due to the engagement of the said detonator shutter with the pivot pin 26 of the striker shutter 25 as shown. In the above-mentioned arrangement it will be appreciated that the detonator shutter 22 is first rotated under the action of centrifugal force and when it reaches a predetermined position the striker shutter is released or freed to enable it to be rotated about its pivot pin to release the striker.

If desired, the above described arrangement may be reversed as shown in Figures 5 to 7. As shown the striker shutter 32 is keyed to a pivot pin 33, the latter having a semi-circular projection 34 which is normally disposed in the path of an arcuate recess '35 on the detonator shutter 36. In this case, therefore, the arrangement is such that after discharge of the shell the striker shutter is first moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 6 leaving the striker in an armed condition, movement of the striker shutter 32 releasing the detonator shutter 36 so that the latter can thereafter move by centrifugal force to the dotted line position shown in Figure 7.

In Figures 1 to 7 the striker shutter and the detonator shutter and the pivot pins are housed in recesses in the fuse body I8 whilst in a modified construction shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10 the detonator shutter and the striker shutter, which are formed similarly to the construction shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, are housed in a block 31 which is disposed in an axial bore in the fuse body I8. The detonator shutter 36 is located in a recess 38 on the lower surface of the block 31 as shown in Figures 8 and 10, whilst the striker shutter 32 is housed in a recess 39 in the upper surface of the block 31. The detonator 20 is secured in an axial hole in the block 31' and as shown is received in a cap 48 screw threaded into an aperture in the block 31. With this construction it will be appreciated that the striker shutter, detonator shutter and the prime detonator can be applied as a unitary structure to the body 18, the construction also facilitating manufacture.

If desired, in order to afford a still greater time interval before arming of the fuse, the detonator shutter may comprise two associated pivoted elements. Such a construction is shown in Figures 11 to 14. The elements 4| and 42 of the detonator shutter in this arrangement overlap element 42 of the shutter which subsequently moves is keyed to a pivot pin 41, the upper end of which carries a semi-circular projection 48 for co-operation with an arcuate recess 49 on the striker shutter 50, Figure 12, for the purpose previously described. The first movable element 4| of the detonator shutter is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 5| which can conveniently comprise an extension of the pivot pin upon which the striker shutter is mounted as shown. The elements of the detonator shutter are normally urged into the unarmed positions by suitably disposed springs similar tothose described above.

If desired the detonator shutter may comprise a single pivoted plate as shown by 36 in Figure '7 and the striker shutter may comprise two interlocking elements designated by 58 and 59 in Figure 14a. The element 58 is keyed to the pivot pin which at its lower end is formed with a semicircular projection normally disposed in the path of an arcuate recess on the detonator shutter as shown in Figure '7. The element 59 is provided with a radial locking face 60 which prevents movement of the element 58 until the element 59 has moved to a predetermined position. The elements 58 and 59 are each provided with an open ended slot BI and 62 respectively so that on being moved into the armed position the striker will be freed. The elements of the striker shutter are normally urged into their unarmed positions by suitably disposed springs similar to those described with reference to the other embodiments.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 15, 16 and 17, the construction shown in these figures being different from those previously described in that the striker shutter 52 is radially disposed in the fuse body and is capable of sliding outwardly by centrifugal action to release the striker l9. As shown in Figure 16, the inner end of the striker shutter 52 has a slot or is bifurcated at 53 to engage the inner end of the striker I9 as shown in Figure 15. The bolt 52 is normally held in the position shown in Figure 16 in which it holds the striker l9 in an unarmed position by means of a pin 54 disposed parallel to the axis of the fuse, the said pin being rotated by the detonator shutter 55,

Figures and 17, which shutter issimilar in construction to the detonator shutter shown in Figures 1 and 3. The upper end of the pin 54. is

flattened asindicated at 55 and is normally dis- 1 causing the pin 54 likewise to rotate and the flattened end 55 to move into alignment with the bifurcated end 53. With the flattened end 55 in this position the bolt 52 is capable of moving outwardly under the action of centrifugal force to release the strikerl9. The outer end of the bolt 55 is normally so arranged with; relation:-

to the outer surface of the fuse body that it cannot move outwardly until it is clear of the gun barrel.

The striker l9 in the examples shown, is normally held after arming in a projecting position by a suitable pin (or pins) which is sheared on impact of the projectile. In Figure 1 the shear pin is indicated at 51.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A percussion fuse including a striker and at least two centrifugally operated shutters one of which is adapted normally to maintain the striker in an unarmed position and the other of which normally masks another element, a pin coupled to one of said shutters, a semi-circular shaped boss at one end of said pin, the other shutter being formed to provide a semi-circular shaped recess with which said semi-circular shaped boss normally engages to prevent movement of said other shutter, the said pin and boss being adapted to be rotated out of the path of said other shutter when the shutter carrying the said pin moves to a predetermined position after which said other shutter is capable of movement.

2. A percussion fuse comprising a striker at least two centrifugally operated shutters, pivot pins disposed parallel to the axis of the fuse and on opposite sides of said axis and on which said shutters are mounted for angular movement, said shutters being disposed transversely to the axis of the fuse, one of said shutters being adapted normally to maintain the said striker in an unarmed position and the other of which masks another elementof the fuse, one of said pins being coupled to one of said shutters so as to be angularly movable therewith, saidpin being normally disposed in the path of the other shutter to prevent movement of the last menstriker element in an unarmed position, said bolt being radially disposed with respect to the axis of the fuse and capable of sliding outwardly by centrifugal action to release said striker, a shutter for masking an element of the fuse, said shutter comprising a pivotally mounted plate, having a 7 slot at one end thereof for supporting said striker, said locking element comprising a pin having a. flattened end which is normally disposed in the aperture in said bolt, said aperture communicating with the said slot.

5. A percussion fuse comprising a striker, at least two centrifugally operated members, one of which is adapted to maintain said striker in an unarmed position and the other of which normally masks another element of the fuse, a pin coupled to one of said members so as to be angularly movable therewith, a locking element on one end of said pin, the other member being provided with a slot or recess with which said looking element engages to prevent movement of said other member, the locking element being adapted to be moved out of engagement with said other member when the member coupled to the pin moves to a predetermined position after which said other member is capable of movement.

6. A percussion fuse as claimed in claim 5, wherein one of said centrifugally operated members comprises a pair of elements having interlocking surfaces whereby one of said elements must first move before the movement of the other element which is coupled to the pin can occur each of said elements being formed to provide an aperture, the apertures in said elements being normally disposed out of alignment with one another but being moved into alignment after the elements are moved to predetermined positions.

WILLIAM MORPETH. JOHN CHAPMAN WHALEY HESELTINE. 

